Ubuntu shedding dated 'desktop' and 'netbook' edition names

Canonical Inc. on Wednesday announced that there is really no longer a need to have a separate edition of Ubuntu specifically for netbooks and for desktops, and development of the Linux distributions will be folded into a single version of Ubuntu, known simply as "Ubuntu" for Version 11.04.

"We are going back to our roots," Canonical's Gerry Karr said on Wednesday. "From 11.04 the core product that you run on your PC will be simply, Ubuntu. Therefore the next release will be Ubuntu 11.04 and you can run that, my friend, on anything you like from a netbook to a notebook to a desktop. Ubuntu Server will be maintained as a separate product of course and named simply, Ubuntu Server 11.04."

Even though Karr said that interest in Ubuntu Netbook edition has been "not only thriving, but booming," He ultimately admits that "the market has moved on," and separate device-specific images are no longer needed as convergence slowly becomes a reality.

This announcement follows the long-expected addition of the "Unity Shell" user interface to Ubuntu 11.04, which has been called Ubuntu's "most significant change ever," since it is the first time the Linux-based OS will deviate from the commonly-used GNOME Shell.

The Unity Shell, like the new stripped-down name, will be the same across the different PC form factors irrespective of screen size.